Rogue
by Lily-Evans-Personified
Summary: Lily Evans’ life lacks challenge. That is until a certain blast from the past comes back on the scene and turns her world upside down...
1. Those Damn Splinchers

_**Rogue**_

Lily Evans' life lacks challenge. She's sick of bringing in Splinchers. That is until a certain blast from the past comes back on the scene and turns her world upside down.

Darkness is all around and closing in fast, even if it can't be seen.

* * *

_**Disclaimer:**_

_**Methinks as thou art scrolling,**_

_**It will be obvious to thee,**_

_**That 'Harry Potter' etc. belongs to J.K Rowling,**_

_**And most definitely not to me.**_

* * *

Chapter 1 – I Hate Those Damn Splinchers

Lily Evans waved goodbye to the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad and wearily handcuffed the two teenage lawbreakers standing in front of her. She activated the Portkey function on the cuffs and immediately apparated after them. In her office, she gestured for them to sit down while she wrote in their files.

"Name." She said monotonously to the male.

"Angus Lowry." He replied suavely. "You know, maybe we could come to some kind of mutual arrangement with this." He winked suggestively.

Lily rolled her eyes and smirked as the girl sitting next to him slapped him across the face.

"Age." She asked him, in the same monotonous tone.

"Eighteen."

"Mr. Lowry, as you are a first time offender, you will receive the minimum fine of three galleons, to be paid withinthe week and your first of three possible warnings. Upon ignoring the third warning, you will be sentenced to the minimum of a week in Azkaban Prison. Blah, blah, blah, don't do it again, be a good boy and get your licence, you are free to go."

Angus waved goodbye and told his girlfriend that he would wait outside in the hall for her.

"Name." Lily asked the girl.

"Emily Spinnet and I'm eighteen. Hey! Aren't you Lily Evans?"

"Yes." Said Lily slowly, pointing to the name plaque that was sitting on her desk, right in front of Emily.

"Yeah, I remember you! You were Head Girl when I was in first year. Weren't you always chasing after James Potter?"

"No. It was the other way round." Said Lily, through gritted teeth.

"Oh…Well it was nice seeing you again!"

"Uh huh. Three galleons by next Wednesday, first of three warnings, then a week in Azkaban, get your licence, goodbye." She said shortly.

As soon as Emily had closed the office door, Lily put her head in her hands and growled. Then she decided what she finally must do. Jumping up and out of her desk chair, she marched down the hall to the Head Auror's office.

His secretary, Lolita, smiled at Lily as she approached her desk.

"Hey Lol, is The Boss in? I really need to talk to him about something."

"Yeah, he is. Hang on, just let me announce you formally." They both smirked and rolled their eyes. Lolita walked over to Mr. Hildegard's office door and knocked.

"Lily Evans to see you Sir." She said professionally.

"Thank you Lolita. Come in Miss Evans."

Lily smiled at Lolita and entered Mr. Hildegard's office.

"Sir." She said, as soon as she sat down. "I'm unsatisfied with my current job situation." Mr Hildegard smiled.

"Never one to beat about the bush, are you Miss Evans?"

"I believe not, Sir."

"What exactly are you unsatisfied with? I do hope that I'm not pushing you too hard."

Lily rolled her eyes at his sexist comment.

"No Sir. I assure you that it is quite the opposite. I'm _sick_ of bringing in Splinchers! That's _Intern_ stuff! I've been out of training college for _a year_ now and I'm_ still_ doing _Intern's stuff_!" She sighed exasperatingly.

Mr Hildegard sat there and studied her for a moment.

"Miss Evans, does this have something to do with money? I believe that the amount that we pay you currently is quite reasonable."

"No Sir, this has nothing to do with money. I need challenge in my work and I'm just not challenged by bringing in Splinchers and fining them, nearly every day."

"Well Miss Evans, I must inform you that the rate of petty crime has decreased by 30 per cent in the last year, due to the contribution to society that you and your colleagues make. You have also proven yourself to be exceptionally skilled and capable; however, I'm afraid that we don't have any major cases to spare, at present."

"Very well, Sir." Lily nodded sadly.

"If you are patient, Miss Evans, something appropriate may come along in the near future, but until then, I'm afraid that there's nothing I can do." He said kindly.

Lily sighed.

"Thank you for your time Sir."

Lolita knocked on and opened the office door.

"Sorry to interrupt you Sir, but this Urgent file just arrived from Special Branch and it, well it's urgent."

Mr. Hildegard summoned the scarlet folder from Lolita's arms and opened it. He scanned quickly through the file with his eyes squinted in disbelief.

"What is it Sir?" Asked Lily curiously.

"It seems," Said Mr. Hildegard with disbelief "that Special Branch has had a bit of trouble with one of their agents and as they are all out investigating mysterious muggle deaths and the like, they've asked for the assistance of our department."

"Which agent?"

"James Potter."

"_James Potter_? Are you sure? What's he done now?"

Lily smirked as she thought to herself. _Sexual Assault or Indecent Exposure most likely_. _Or just another stupid, immature prank, probably on his boss._

"According to this file, Mr. Potter is responsible for the murder of a fellow officer."

"What!? That's not like him! I mean, he's a jerk, but he wouldn't do something like that, not unless his life was in danger."

"You know this Potter then?"

"Yes, unfortunately I do."

"Would you say that you know him _well_?"

"I wouldn't say that I knew him well, as a friend, but I know pretty much exactly how his mind works." _Yeah, his thoughts are easy enough to predict. Girls, girls and when possible, naked girls._

"If you know as much as you claim to about this guy, I'll _consider_ putting you on this case."

"Really Sir?"

"Yes Evans. As we both know very well, I would usually give a case like this to Fenwick or Shacklebolt, but as they are both busy, I'm prepared to hand it over to you. _Especially_ if your personal knowledge of this guy will assist you in solving this case. Read through the file and get back to me on whether you're up to it or not." He passed her the file across the desk.

"Thank you Sir!"

Lily said goodbye to Mr Hildegard and as soon as she had closed his door, she then proceeded to dance around Lolita's desk, singing: "I got one, I got one, I finally got a good one!"

"Congratulations Lil! Who is it and what have they done?"

"Sorry Lol! That's classified information until I get clearance."

"Oh, ok."

"I'm going to go and read through it!"

Lolita smiled and shook her head at her friend's behaviour as Lily ran down the hall to her office and locked the door so that she wouldn't be disturbed.

She sat down at her desk and smiled warmly at the scarlet file in front of her that had both URGENT and CONFIDENTIAL printed in thick black letters on the front. All Aurors dreamed about files like these, knowing that they contained a big juicy case that they could really sink their teeth into. Almost bursting with excitement, Lily slowly opened the file, as if it were a treasure chest filled with precious jewels.

Paper-clipped to the document insidewas a dashingly handsome photograph of James that she knew Lolita would swoon over when she showed her. Smirking, Lily put the photograph aside and proceeded to read through the file.

_Case Number: 393 401 256_

_Criminal Identification Number: 002 179_

_Criminal Full Name: James Edward Potter_

_Age: 23_

_Occupation: Auror – Special Branch Agent_

_Residence: 457 Phoenix Ave, Godric's Hollow._

_Physical Characteristics: _

_Hair: Black _

_Eyes: Hazel._

_Skin Tone: Lightly tanned._

_Height: 6 ft 2_

_Fitness level: High _

_Distinguishing Feature(s): Small scar __through left eyebrow._

_Crime(s): _

_- Murder of fellow officer Zacharias Birch_

_- Resisting Arrest_

_Likely Sentence: Life in Azkaban_

_Bonus for Capture: 50 galleons (Subject to change)_

_Miscellaneous Information:_

_- Is rumoured to be allied with disgraced Special Branch Agent Alastor Moody_

_- Skilled Quidditch player and excellent flier_

_- Was Head Boy at Hogwarts_

_- Single, but rumoured to have been linked recently to singer Celestina Warbeck_

_- May still be in contact with school friends: Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, Chhaya Madhubala and Lily Evans_

Lily furiously crossed her name from the list.

"I was never his friend." She muttered crossly.

Lily turned over the page and read through the rather grisly post-mortem of Zacharias Birch. It seemed that he had not only been murdered using the illegal and 'Unforgivable' _Avada Kadavra_ curse, but also tortured for a significant amount of time using the infamous Crutacius Curse until his body was almost unrecognisable. Lily shuddered, remembering the extreme pain that she had experienced during Auror training while being under this curse in a training exercise. That was a day she'd _never_ forget. It was under her first instructor, Alastor Moody, who had since been barred from The Aurors Guild for 'stirring up trouble'. Moody believed in learning by experience, and what an experience it had been. Lily had had enough of a challenge fighting off the Imperious Curse, but enduring twenty seconds under the Crutacius without screaming had been a whole new ordeal.

"An Auror should _never_ show pain, because pain is weakness and no Auror should ever be weak, or show any weakness. _Constant vigilance_ is required! If you young-uns can endure twenty seconds under this ruddy curse, _without screaming_, then you're ready to move onto the next level of your training." Lily remembered Moody growling at them. Why _exactly_ Moody had been disgraced, Lily didn't know. But she did know that it had been something to do with him accusing some people, including some of his colleagues and Head Auror of Special Branch, of being allied with a mysterious Dark Lord that no one else had ever heard of. Voldenmert, or something. For this act of insolence, he was stripped of his titles and removed from his position, encouraging media coverage and rumours to spread about the events surrounding his allegations. Every one, including Lily, had always thought he was a bit crazy anyway.

Lily finished reading through the file. Her mind made up, she made the familiar journey down the hallway to Mr. Hildegard's office. After again being announced by a smirking Lolita, Lily entered his office and sat down.

"Well Miss Evans, I gather that you have made your final decision regarding this case. Are you up for it or not?"

"I think I can handle it."

"Congratulations Evans. You're on the case."


	2. Irritatingly Loyal Friends

_**Rogue**_

Lily Evans' life lacks challenge. She's sick of bringing in Splinchers. That is until a certain blast from the past comes back on the scene and turns her world upside down.

Darkness is all around and closing in fast, even if it can't be seen.

* * *

_**Disclaimer:**_

_**Methinks as thou art scrolling,**_

_**It will be obvious to thee,**_

_**That 'Harry Potter' etc. belongs to J.K Rowling,**_

_**And most definitely not to me.**_

* * *

**Previously, on _Rogue_:**

_Lily finished reading through the file. Her mind made up, she made the familiar journey down the hallway to Mr. Hildegard's office. After again being announced by a smirking Lolita, Lily entered his office and sat down._

"_Well Miss Evans, I gather that you have made your final decision regarding this case. Are you up for it or not?"_

"_I think I can handle it."_

"_Congratulations Evans. You're on the case." _

* * *

Chapter 2 – Irritatingly Loyal Friends

After work, Lily and Lolita met their friend Chhaya in a nearby café, where they had their weekly catch up.

Chhaya was already sitting at their favourite table on the terrace. As she sat down, Lily smiled at the familiar view that the table had of the bustling main street of Diagon Alley. For a second, she thought she might of seen James' dark head in the crowd, but the man turned around and revealed himself to be someone else.

"What do you want Lily?" Lily turned around to see Chhaya, Lolita and a cute waiter looking at her expectantly.

"Oh! A...er...just a peppermint tea for me...thanks."

Lolita smirked at Lily as she blushed.

"He was cute!" She remarked to Lily and Chhaya when he had retuned to the kitchen.

"Not as handsome as Arun." Replied Chhaya smugly. Arun Patil, Chhaya's fiancé, was always the most good-looking guy around, at least, according to Chhaya he was.

Then soon had to end their conversation, because the gorgeous waiter was back with their drinks.

"So Lily," Said Chhaya, stirring her coffee. "I heard, from a certain little bird, that someone was given a major case this afternoon!"

"Yeah, that's right!" Said Lily, shifting uneasily. James and Chhaya had been friends ever since they were small children. What was Lily going to say to her?

"So, who is it? Anyone I might know?" Lily and Lolita shared an uncomfortable glance.

"Chhay…Have you, uh, heard from James lately?"Asked Lily quietly.

"No, not for a couple of weeks actually, which is quite unusual, come to think of it. Why? Do you want to catch up with him, rekindle old flames?"

"There is no point in rekindling unrequited flames, Chhay." Lily scoffed, smirking

"So, why do you want to see him then? Wait a minute. This big case you got doesn't have anything to do with him does it? Is he alright? What's happened to him?" Chhaya looked very upset and worried.

Lily bit her lip and said nothing.

"I'm his friend Lily. I'm worried about him. Please tell me what's happened." She asked, increasingly anxious.

"Well...Ok. But you mustn't tell anyone about this." Said Lily, now very uneasy.

"Oh my goodness, what is it?"

"He's been accused of murdering one of his fellow officers." She whispered.

"WHAT?" Chhaya exploded. "Lily come on, you can't expect me to believe that, honestly! You're not serious, are you?"

"Unfortunately I am, Chhay. And now he's missing." Said Lily quietly.

"I just...I just can't believe this."

Lily placed a comforting hand on Chhaya's shoulder.

"I'm sorry Chhaya, I really am. This must be a difficult time for you and I know that it must have come as a shock, but it's the unfortunate truth. Now, are you sure that you haven't seen or heard from him recently?"

Chhaya stared at her for a moment and then glared and removed Lily's hand form her shoulder.

"_What the hell are you doing_?" She hissed. "Why are you all of a sudden treating me like, like some unfamiliar person who's a close friend of someone who you don't even know? It's almost as if you're _pretending_ to feel sorry for me, so that you can get me to trust you, so that you can then squeeze information out of me like I'm a wet sponge! Well the fact is that you _do_ know me and you _do_ know James and even if I _did_ know where he was, I don't know if I'd consider telling you anymore. You're supposed to be my _friend_ Lily, not my _interrogator_. What are you going to do next, eh? Start referring to me as Ms. Madhubala?"

Lily was speechless for a moment.

"Oh Chhay, I'm so sorry! You're right, I was treating you like someone who's been brought in for questioning. I know that you're worried about James, but if you know where he is I can find him and question him and then maybe we could be able to shed some light on this situation."

"It's alright Lily. I guess I overreacted a bit. I've just had a tough day and hearing this about James is the icing on the cake. And on top of that, I'm going to have to cancel on you for Friday night. Arun's parents have invited us over for dinner again."

"Ooh, dinner with the in-laws-to-be." Said Lolita, wincing. "That should be fun."

"Oh, I'ts not that bad. Mr. and Mrs. Patil are very sweet, even if they are a bit protective of Arun. They still think he's a virgin, ha! It's not that I don't like having dinner with them, I'd just much rather go clubbing with you two."

"It won't be as much fun without you Chhay." Said Lolita sadly.

"You better be able to come next time." Lily added.

"I will, I promise!" Said Chhaya. Glancing at her watch, she sighed.

"Sorry. I've got to run. My next shift starts in ten minutes and if I'm late, Healer Breslin will eat me."

"You had better go then."

"Yeah. See you later!"

"Bye."

* * *

As soon as Chhaya had apparated to St Mungo's, Lily put her head in her hands and sighed loudly. 

"Oh gods, I feel so awful! I can't believe that I did that to Chhaya! If I ever start going into professional interrogating mode with you, or any of my other friends again, let it be known that you all have my permission to hit me as hard as you want to."

"Relax Lils, it's okay. Chhay has forgiven you. If you ever try that with me though, I'll have to take you up on that generous offer."

Lily smiled at Lolita and put some money on the table.

"I've got to go too. I'm gonna go back to the office and find out some background info for this case, so I'll see you at home."

"Okay. What do you want to do for dinner? Take-away?"

"Of course!"

"Why did I even ask? Righty-o, see you later."

"Bye."

* * *

Back at the office, Lily pulled the files of Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew out of the master filing cabinet and searched through them for their current places of residence. Ah, how Lily loved the master filing cabinet. It was a mine of useful information. All you had to do was swipe your clearence card in the magical scanner, say your key word into the voice recognition chamber and then say the full name of the person who's file you required. If your clearence card revealed that you had permission to view the requested file, it would pop down into the chute and slide directly into your arms. If however, you requested a file that you din't have permission to see, the machine would make a loud honking noise, causing every one within a 30m radius to turn around and stare at you dissapprovingly. Lily had never personally experienced that situation, but she had seen it happen and it didn't look particularly enjoyable. 

Lily decided to visit Sirius first. He was James' closest friend and if anyone knew where James was, it would probably be him. Luckily, he lived close by.

Lily apparated to Florean Fortescue's Ice-Cream Parlour an went up to the front counter.

"Hi Maddeline! Is your dad here? I need to ask him about something."

"Yeah, sure Lily. He's in the kitchens whipping up afresh batch of Pepper-Imp Paradise."

"Thanks,"

Lily walked behind the counter and through the door that led to the kitchens. Florean Fortescue himself was stirring an enormous vat of dark green liqiud with his wand, whistling a tune and occasionally tossing in a hanful of Pepper-Imps form a large paper bag stamped with the Honedukes label.

"Well! If it isn't Miss Lily! What can I do for you today love?"

"Well Mr. Fortescue, I'm actually here to visit Sirius Black. Can you show me how to ge upstairs? I would have asked Maddie, but she was manning the front counter."

"I certainly can love, the staircase password is _Liquorice Wand_, but I'm afraid that you won't achieve much. Young Mr. Black isn't here. Hasn't been for just over a week. Last Tuesday, he went to work, and he never came back. I know he's alright though, because he owled me a couple of hours ago and said that he was alright, he just would be away for a while. Said something had to blow over before he could come back. Gee, I do hope he's not in any trouble. You haven't come to arrest him, have you?"

"No, no I haven't come to arrest him, I just need to ask him some questions about something. Thanks for your help. If you do hear from him, I would really appreciate it if you contacted me."

"Will do, Miss Lily. Sorry that I can't be of better assistance."

"That's okay. It was nice to see you again."

"You too. Bye now."

As Lily walked back down the Alley, towards the Leaky Couldron, she sorted through the information in her brain. If Sirius had gone missing last Tuesday, which also happened to be the night that the murder had occurred, it meant that he probably was in some way connected and maybe even involved. Either that, or he had gone underground to help James hide. He could get into big trouble for that.

Now that her most likely resource had come to a dead end, she had to move on to the second name on her list. Sighing, she apparated to Remus'.

"Hi Lily. Haven't seen you in a while." Said Remus when he opened the door, giving her a tired, but friendly smile.

Lily threw her arms around Remus and pecked him on the cheek.

"I've missed seeing you around Remmy!"

"I've missed you too."

"So how's work been lately?"

"Oh, you know, the usual. Splinchers, Misproper Use of Magicers, murderers..."

"Murderers?"

"Yes Remus, murderers. I'm afraid that this isn't just a social call."

Remus paled, and then burst into tears.

* * *

**A/N - Review Responses**

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	3. One Step Foreward, Two Steps backwards

_**Rogue**_

Lily Evans' life lacks challenge. She's sick of bringing in Splinchers. That is until a certain blast from the past comes back on the scene and turns her world upside down.

Darkness is all around and closing in fast, even if it can't be seen.

* * *

**_Disclaimer:_**

_**Methinks as thou art scrolling,**_

_**It will be obvious to thee,**_

_**That 'Harry Potter' etc. belongs to J.K Rowling,**_

_**And most definitely not to me.**_

* * *

**Previously, on _Rogue_:**

_"Hi Lily. Haven't seen you in a while." Said Remus when he opened the door, giving her a tired, but friendly smile._

_Lily threw her arms around Remus and pecked him on the cheek._

_"I've missed seeing you around Remmy"_

_"I've missed you too. So how's work been lately"_

_"Oh, you know, the usual. Splinchers, Misproper Use of Magicers, murderers..."_

_"Murderers"_

_"Yes Remus, murderers. I'm afraid that this isn't just a social call."_

_Remus paled, and then burst into tears._

* * *

Chapter 3 – One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

Lily stood there and stared. Remus had always been the strong one, the shoulder to cry on and now he had been reduced to a sobbing wreck.

"Whoa, Rem, calm down. Why don't we go inside and sit down. I'll put the kettle on…and we can talk." Lily was very shocked by his behaviour. This wasn't like Remus at all!

Remus was shaking uncontrollably, tears still gushing from his eyes.

"N-no Li-ls. Wh-y d-don't y-you just a-arr-est me n-now." He hiccuped between sobs.

"Remus! I'm not here to arrest you! I'm jus-"

"Y-you k-know I-I all-ways k-knew t-that th-is w-would h-happ-pen. L-lily I'm s-sorry I di-dn't te-tell you a-bout me be-ing a w-ere-wolf, I-it h-had no-noth-ing to do w-with m-me no-not trus-ting y-you, I-I just…" Remus babbled on, between sobs, only stopping when he saw Lily's expression of pure shock.

Remus took a couple of very deep breaths and composed himself.

"How many people did I kill?" He mumbled sadly.

Lily was still staring at him with disbelief.

"I need to know Lily."

"Remus…" Lily spluttered.

"Lily, tell me. I really need to know."

"WHY DIDN'T YOU _TELL_ ME THAT YOU WERE A _WEREWOLF_?" Lily finally shouted, startling them both.

"You mean, you didn't know? I _haven't_ killed anyone? Then why are you here to arrest me?"

"Remus, for goodness sake, I've already told you. I'm not here to arrest you. I think that something has gotten confused somewhere along the line. Why don't we go inside and have some tea, eh?"

"Yeah, ok…but you've got a lot of explaining to do!"

"So do you, Remus. So do you."

"So, what you're telling me, my dear Lily, is that James and Sirius, my best friends, are currently on the run and charged with murder." said Remus bitterly, taking another sip of his tea and chewing aggressively on his pumpkin jam slice.

"Well, not exactly. James is, but Sirius is only wanted for questioning at the moment."

"Well, that's just great!" exclaimed Remus, with bitter sarcasm.

"So, does that mean that you don't know where they are?"

"I honestly have no idea. I haven't seen them since the full moon, which was a week ago. That's actually quite strange, because they usually come by again in the next couple of days after it and see how my recovery is going…"

"I still can't get over the fact that one of my best friends is a werewolf."

"Lil, I'm sorry. I really hope that my…_condition_ won't affect our friendship. I'm so sorry that I didn't tell you sooner, it's not that I didn't trust you, I just didn't want to scare you away. Lily, I will completely understand if you tell me that you never want to see me again…"

"Don't be ridiculous, Remus. Of course I still want to be your friend…but I do still have one question. Why on earth would James and Sirius be hanging around you during the full moon? That's suicide! What if they had been injured?"

"I'm sorry Lil. I can't tell you. Marauder's Honour."

"Okay," sighed Lily, exasperatedly, "Bye Remus."

"Bye Lily."

Lily sighed again and apparated back to her apartment. Lolita better have left her some chips…

* * *

Ah, it was finally the end of the working week. To Lily, it couldn't have come sooner. Lily smiled at her reflection in the mirror. She was wearing a floaty, emerald-green, cotton mini-dress that was tight in all the right places. She slipped into some strappy gold stilettos and went over to her dressing table to do her makeup and fix he hair.

Lily loved dressing up, as it was something that she seldom had the chance to do. She couldn't be bothered making an effort for work, just as long as she was presentable (brushed hair, washed faced, pressed robes). The standard issue Auror robes were so drab and boring that she didn't feel the need to spend ages on her appearance in the mornings. She didn't even wear makeup to work.

Lily brushed her silky titian hair gently and then pulled it back into a loose plait, fastening it at the bottom with a green silk ribbon. Moving on to the makeup, she applied a light dusting of rouge to her cheekbones and a thin layer of sparkly gold eye shadow to her eyelids. With a quick swipe of mascara to her eyelashes and some vanilla lip-gloss on her lips, she was finished.

"Lol, you better be ready!" Lily shouted down the hall.

"I _am _ready! _I've_ been waiting for _you_!"

"Sorry! Let's go then."

Lily and Lolita apparated to Diablo's, their usual club, from their a apartment. Diablo's was the best magical nightclub in London and Lily, Lolita and Chhaya traditionally went there every second Friday night.

After being let in immediately by Gaius, a bouncer who they were on good terms with, the two girls went straight onto the dancefloor. Diablo's was packed tonight, and there was barely room to move, but that hardly phased them.

The interior of the club was circular and their were three levels in all: the bottom level was where the main dancefloor and bar were. The second level was doughnut shaped and looked down onto the bottom level. It was more relaxed, with couches for people to sit down on and a somewhat smaller bar. The third level was VIP ONLY. Lily didn't know what was up there, as she had never been.

* * *

At the bar, while having her first drink, Lolita felt someone tap her softly on the shoulder.

"Lolly? Is that you?"

"Jakey! It's great to see you!"

"You too darling! You look fabulous!"

"Thanks! You look fantastic!"

Jake smiled and did a model pose in his black leather pants and dark gray, v-necked muscle shirt.

"So what have you been doing lately?"

"Oh, you know, a Malkins campaign, five page spread in Witch Weekly, Interview with the Daily Prophet's HOT YOUNG CELEBRITIES section, nothing out of the ordinary."

"Hey Lol! It's pumping out there! I _really_ need a Firewhisky!" said Lily, out of breath, while slipping onto the barstool on the other side of Lolita.

"Who's this Lolly?" asked Jake, curiously.

"Jake, this is my friend Lily, from work. Lils, this is my old friend Jake."

"Hey there, darling! I love your dress! You can be an honourary member of our little club, since you're such a good friend of Lolly's and your name already ends in y!" Exclaimed Jake, excitedly.

Lily was a bit confused and a bit frightened by this man. His over the top exuberance was almost overwhelming!

"You and Lol have a club?" She asked, cautiously.

"That's right, sweetheart! We're Lolly and Jakey, constantly on the lookout for cute guys to seduce! You're welcome to join us in our honourable quest!"

Lily giggled.

"Thanks Jake, I would be truly honoured to join your quest."

"It's Jakey, honey. Okay! Action stations, everyone!"

"What does this mean?" Asked Lily, confused again.

"Well basically, one of us, usually Jake, goes out onto the dancefloor and dances for a song or two, and we sit upstairs and watch to see if any cute guys are checking him out. Then when he stops dancing, and comes back over to us, we point out a selection of the cutest ones and he makes his choice and goes in for the kill."

"Sounds like a well engineered strategy."

"Results guaranteed!"

Lily and Lolita apparated onto the second level sat down at the small bar and watched as Jake made his way into the center of the dance floor and began to dance, seductively. He received many appreciative stares, but mostly from women. After three songs, he came back to the bar.

"So how did I do?" He asked, throwing back a shot of Firewhisky.

"Plenty of women, but the pick of the guys would have to be that one down there." Lily pointed to a guy on the dancefloor with dark brown hair.

"He's not cute enough!" whined Jake.

"There, there, Jakey," Lolita said gently, "The night is still young! We can try again later."

"Okay Lolly. Yeah, I suppose you're right. Go on, you get out there and show them your stuff!"

Lolita smiled at them and went down to the dancefloor. Lily and Jake sat leaning against the bar, waiting for a potential candidate to show themselves.

"Ooh! Look at that one!" said Jake to Lily, "He's gorgeous!"

"Or that one!"

Lolita still hadn't come back after five songs. By the looks of it, she'd found someone all by herself. Lily sat there, watching them with an enormous smile on her face. Lolita looked like she was having a great time.

"Hey Lily!" Said Jake suddenly, diverting her attention from the dancefloor. "Lily, sweetheart, there's a gorgeous guy who keeps staring at you, over there."

Lily looked over to the other end of the bar, where Jake was looking. There was someone staring at her and Lily managed to catch his eye before he looked away.

Lily's breath caught in her throat.

It was _him._

What on earth was he doing here? Did he want to get captured? _Typical Potter_. Thought Lily. _He's on the run from the law, but still manages to fit in a visit to Diablo's._

He was in disguise, of course, andwould have been impossible to recogniseif she hadn't looked into his eyes. His eyes may have been charmed to be ice blue, but they still had the same expression in them. That was the way James had always looked at her. With a mixture of fear, admiration and above all, lust. The look those eyes gave her was distinctly James Potter's. He'd not only changed his eyes, he'd also bleached his dark hair, blond and done something to his skin to make it paler. The look he had achieved was very Scandinavian.

Then of course, there was his hair. He may have been able to bleach it, but any attempt to tame it in any way had proved futile. The only way he could ever change the way his hair sat would be to shave it all off and be bald. Lily knew that James was much too vain to ever do that.

Lily formulated a plan in her brain and pulled herself together.

"Yeah, Jakey! You're right, he is gorgeous! I think I might just go over there and introduce myself!"

"You go girl!"

Lily giggled. Taking a deep breath, she walked slowly and carefully over to James. Luckily, she had her spare pair of "Expanding Handcuffs" in her handbag. You never know when you might need handcuffs!

Before she could even think about handcuffing him and giving him the oh-so-wonderful 'You are now under arrest' speech, he turned around and grabbed her by the arm.

"I need to talk to you, Evans. In private."

* * *

A/N – Review Responses:

**DobbyGrl:** Thank you, thank you, thank you!

**mystikalolo:** Thank you! Really really glad you liked it. Yes, the Indian-ness! I love Chhaya, she's my favourite OC. I would really love for her to get married in this fic and have a traditional Indian wedding, so I'll have to do a lot of internet research! Poor Remus, I know! It's okay he's stopped crying now!

**ElspethBates:** he he he. Glad you like it! Thanks for reviewing!

**man eating plant:** Really? I'm so cruel to poor Remus. I hope he forgives me. Thanks for rewiewing!

**Celi:** Thanks Celi!

**MaisjetadoreSiriusNoir:** Thank you! Really glad you like it. Thanks for reviewing!

**SnitchWitch123:** Thanks!

**angryteabag**: He he. Sorry, I have to say that I disagree!

**madame-knight:** He he. You'll have to see! Really happy you liked it!


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